Fall-board for pianos.



G. LAMBIASE.

FALL BOARD FOR PIANOS,

APPLICATION FILED JAN 27,1914.

' 1,105,802, Patented Aug. 4, 1914.

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avmmwboz GUSTAV'O LAMBIASE, 6F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FALL-BOARD FOE PIANOS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 2'5, 1914. Serial No. 814,811.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GUSTAVO LAMBIASE, acitizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Brooklyn in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fall-Boards for Pianos, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to pianos and more especially to the class offall boards and its object is to provide a sliding board made in twoparts, one part having a latch adapted to secure the board in its closedposition and which is released by the other part automatically whenthrown back, so that the whole may be drawn into the piano case andexpose the keys, as will be more fully described in the followingspecification set forth in the claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1. is a sectional view through the front of a piano case with thefallboard closed. Fig. 2. is a similar view with the front sectionthrown back and releasing the board. Fig. 3. is a perspective view ofthe slide block. Figs. 4%, 5 and 6 are details of the latch operatingmechanism.

Fall boards of pianos are usually constructed consisting of severalparts hinged together and folding on each other, so as to be heavy andcumbersome when arranged one on the other to expose the keys but in thepresent invention one section of the board is hinged while the othersection slides back carrying the first section to expose the keys.

The sliding section 10 of the board with the back fall 11 extends acrossthe case from side to side, and has on its under side the slide piece 12running in the dove-tailed groove, 13 on the upper side of the block 14,the latter being provided with slots 15 and 16 to attach it to theinside of the case.

It must be understood that as the fallboard extends across the piano thedevices shown and herein described are duplicated at each end of theboard.

Near the end of the board is an aperture 17 within which is secured theend of a spring 18 and whose other end is secured to a screw 19 on theblock 14. A spring finger 20 engages a button 21 on the block and holdsthe fall in its retracted position as in Fig. 2 and it is clear that thespring 18 tends to draw the board backward when the latter is free tomove so as to expose the keys 22. When the piano is to be closed,however, the board is drawn forward by means of the L-shaped section orfront fall 100 and as the section 10 is drawn out, a latch 23 on itslower side engages a plate 2 1 attached to the name board, after whichthe section 100 is swung down into the position shown in Fig. 1 closingthe front of the piano and the keys.

The lat-ch is shown in Figs. 4;, 5 and 6 and consists of a hook carriedat a right angle to the lever 25 operated by other levers 26 and 27 andintervening trips 28. These levers and trips play in mortises in theboard 10 and at the outer end of lever 27 is located a plunger 29playing vertically through the board and projecting a short distanceabove the upper surface of same, so that when the section 100 occupiesthe position shown in Fig. l, the plunger is up and the latch engaged soas to hold the fall board in its forward position but when the section100 is thrown back it forces down the plunger 29 which through theintervention of the levers and trips raises the latch and the spring 18draws back the board and exposes the keys.

The manual operation is simply throwing back the lid and after theplunger is depressed, the operation is automatic. In closing the fallthe section 100 must be drawn out to its normal position and the latchis free to catch.

This device may be readily applied to a piano case without anyalteration of the latter and by simply securing the block 1 1 andattaching the spring 18 thereto.

The appearance of the piano is in no way altered but it is obvious thatthe details of the device may be modified or otherwise arranged withoutdeparting from the essential features above described or from the scopeof the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In fall boards, the combination with a sliding board, of a spring toretract same, locking means holding the board in its forward positionand releasing means.

2. In fall boards, the combination with a sliding board, of retractingmeans, locking means for holding the board in its closed position andreleasing means connected with the board.

3. In fall boards, the combination with a shifting board, of means forcarrying the Patented Aug. 4, 1914.

sliding back fall in its forward position and released by the frontfall.

5. In fall boards for pianos, the combination with a sliding back fallhaving guides, of blocks with grooves for the guides, a spring connectedwith the block and the back fall, a cross bar, a latch on the back falland adapted to engage the cross bar, 15 a plunger controlling the latchand a hinged front fall adapted to strike the plunger and raise thelatch.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this24th 20 day of January A. D. 1914.

GUSTAVO LAMBIASE.

Witnesses:

J AMES F. DUHAMEL, CHARLES LA RUE.

Coplen 0! thin patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commiuloner of Patents. Wuhington, D. 0."

